Tiny Little Fractures
by chimney leaf
Summary: Videl Satan is jokingly dared to sleep with Gohan the geek for a bet, but her feelings run deeper than anyone else can know.
1. The Past Was Yours

A pretty, dark haired young woman, perhaps no more than eighteen years of age was bustling her way through the busy streets of her home town, along the main route through it. Here lay the numerous shops and stores that served the people of this peaceful town, and those were the reason that she was out walking, sent on an errand by her father, simply to pick up some groceries for the next few days.

She was currently studying the list that she had been provided with, having trouble deciphering the scrawl that lay across it. In doing so, she failed to spot the large, overweight male striding towards her as if he owned the whole place, parting bodies as he went, knocking those down who didn't acknowledge his presence in the correct fashion.

As the two came into contact, it was obvious that the girl was about to be sent flying. She was barely an inch or two over five feet tall and her lithe body probably only just provided her with a weight of a hundred pounds.

Her shoulder collided ungracefully with the large man's midsection, and he uttered a hasty "Watch where you're going" in her direction, in an intimidating tone. He didn't even look at her as he did so, so he failed to witness that he had sent her sprawling in the direction of the busy road on her left.

The woman looked up as she regained her composure as quickly as possible, only to see a car screaming towards her, brakes squealing and screeching in her eyes. The other pedestrians watched in in horror, as they hopelessly realised that there was nothing they could do.

Just moments before the car was due to hit, she scrunched her eyes shut tight, awaiting the impending injuries, or even death. As soon as she did so however, she felt a firm, but not painful squeezing on her upper left arm, and felt herself being yanked up out of the path of the out of control automobile.

The force provided by the strong arm that had rescued her caused her to continue her passage through the air towards the body that it was attached to. She was actually quite afraid, she had almost been killed after all and she clutched onto the nearest thing at hand for support, both mentally and physically, both to steady her shaky mind and legs.

Ever so slowly, she released her tight grip on the shirt of her saviour, and opened her eyes. She had instantly surmised that this was a man that was before her, who was allowing the fragile girl to hold onto him while leaving his own arms by his side, he didn't want to take advantage of her or anything.

Of course it would be obvious to any human that it was a male in front of her, but she also picked up that this one must be considerably strong to have lifted even her petite body from the ground so easily and deftly. The faint feel of well toned but not overbearing muscles that she experienced beneath the thin fabric of his shirt also alluded to the fact. He also seemed to be fairly tall, maybe even an inch taller than her would be cause of death had been, as she worked out from the position of her head on his chest.

Slowly turning her head, she saw the car that would have squashed her like a bug twenty feet down the road, and clearly it would not have stopped in time. Its driver was currently rushing over to her to check whether she was all right, and a small crowd had gathered around her and her mysterious saviour.

Craning her head upwards, she stared into a pair of very familiar and very expressive dark eyes. Such a dark brown that they almost seemed black. Right now, the expression in them was stony and uncaring, or so it seemed to her. He wasn't looking down at her with pity, or love or even a faint attraction to the girl. He had only saved her because he didn't really want someone to die right in front of him.

It didn't matter that he hated her, or at least he hated the ones that she was friends with, because of the things that they had done to his friends. He had always held onto the faint and distant hope that she was different to those others. She was special. He had refrained from holding her in his arms because he might regret what he might do. She was mind blowingly beautiful, her perfect features framed by her silky black hair that he longed to touch, with a perfectly proportioned body that made his heart ache when he looked at her.

The raven haired girl, more commonly known as Videl Satan peered into those eyes, and at the face that she secretly stared at more than some would approve of. She hadn't seen him without his glasses on for years. With them, he had a sort of geeky, boyish handsomeness to him, something that even she and her friends admitted to themselves and each other. But not to their boyfriends.

Without them though, she was blown away. He was more than likely the best looking man that she had ever seen. Thoughts of her own boyfriend were suddenly ejected from her mind, which was now filled with lustful thoughts of the one before her, thoughts that she really shouldn't have considering their respective positions in the town's high school.

She was part of the 'in' crowd, some might say, a crowd full of cheerleaders, football players, parties every weekend and outrageous lies about sex. He however, was a veritable hero of the geeks and 'losers', a group constantly being attacked by members of her own, both verbally and physically.

"Hi." She whispered to him. He didn't even acknowledge her speech, but simply continued to stare deeply into her eyes, allowing her to release her grip entirely and take a step backwards. "Thank you Gohan." She told him, filled with gratitude for his presence at just the right time.

He turned promptly, his job done, and walked away, leaving Videl and the surrounding crowd dumbstruck at his show of strange behaviour.

As he strode off in the same direction as the man that knocked her over, Videl stared at his slim waist and broad shoulders in silent resignation to that which was. The two of them had played in a sand box as youngsters every sunday for God's sake, couldn't they at least be friends?


	2. But The Future's Mine

It was the first Monday after that incident, and all had returned to what could be called 'normal' for Videl, Gohan and indeed the rest of the town. Gohan was no longer walking around looking far too attractive for his current social status, and Videl had not even mentioned her near death experience to anyone as of yet, even withholding the information from her father.

Currently, the blue eyed girl was silently watching her saviour and his friends as they ate their lunches, immersed in laughter. She wondered what they could possibly be laughing about, and somehow she knew that it was a damn sight more interesting than the crap her two best friends were now talking about. Hair, make-up, clothes, etcetera. The usual nonsense that she herself should also be including herself in.

The three of them all had steady boyfriends, who were now thirty feet away, tossing an American football to each other in a triangle. She looked at her own partner. God what an ass hole he was. Why had she ever agreed to go out with him all of those years ago? She just thanked her lucky stars that she hadn't yet given into the pressure put upon her in regards to sleeping with him.

She was waiting for someone special, someone that she truly cared about. She knew that she was only with him because she felt as though she should be with someone.

Someone special. Her eyes did _not _just flicker back to a dark eyed boy with glasses on sat on the green grass of the fields. Did they?

"Videl." A blonde girl on Videl's right hand side said, instantly snapping her from her trance.

"Yes, Erasa?"

"Why do you keep looking at that kid Gohan?" She asked, her intuition figuring out exactly who the girl had been watching after she had tired of the conversation.

"I wasn't!" She instantly refuted. Her eyes switched back to him again.

"There! You just did it again. He's good looking Videl, but you two are on distant ends of the spectrum. He's such a nerd"

"What makes you think that I like him?"

"I just know. Besides, you have a perfectly good boyfriend over there." She swished her hand about in the air, indicating over to the football player. Videl unconsciously scrunched her nose up in slight disgust at her 'boyfriend', and instantly went back to watching the one that she secretly admired.

"He saved my life the other day." She said, in a slightly dreamy voice.

"What? Who?" The other girl present, named Bella, questioned.

"Gohan. I fell out into the road, and he pulled me from the path of a car. He never even said a word." She said rather matter of a factly.

"Why didn't you tell us?" They questioned.

"I just did you idiot." At that precise moment, Gohan's eyes drifted upwards, and met her own. The laughter simply died on his lips. She offered a tentative smile, hoping for one in return, but was met by a cold glare, his eyes narrowed through the lenses of his black rimmed spectacles, almost burning with silent hatred.

She physically recoiled at the look he gave her, not relishing the seriousness of it at all. _That_ was a bit harsh of him. She realised that years of bullying by types like her boyfriend had really taken their toll. Gohan himself had never really been a target, the bullies seemed to know that he was too strong a character to be intimidated by threats and verbal attacks on himself. What had really done the damage were the attacks to his friends.

But it wasn't like she personally had ever done anything of a serious nature to them.

From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the ball that her own friends were playing with fly off in their direction, the result of a wayward throw. It collided with the head of a girl sat beside Gohan, and the ones that owned it erupted in laughter. Had they done that on purpose?

"Well throw it back then!" Her boyfriend, Matthew shouted over to them, still in fits of sporadic laughter. The girl, one that Videl knew as Sam, reached out to get it, ready to toss it back, no questions asked. The look on her face made it seem as though the whole incident had been her own fault.

Gohan reached a long arm to stop her, his hand lightly wrapped around her forearm. She looked up at him, and he said something to her that Videl could neither hear, due to the distance, or lip read due to his obscured face.

She nodded, and rolled the ball to him. The three sportsmen chuckled, and one of the two blonds shouted to the dark haired boy. "Don't embarrass yourself, Son!"

Gohan stood up slowly and gracefully, taking the ball with him. A smirk was planted on his face, and his eyes settled on the one who threw it, Matthew. For a moment his eyes averted in Videl's direction before returning to their original position, dead ahead.

He raised the ball slightly, indicating that he was about to throw it. Raising it to shoulder height, he launched it towards its target. Videl could barely follow the passage of the ball as it flew through the air at tremendous speed, at a perfect height for a catch.

Matthew's arms flailed about before him as he attempted to capture the ball in his hands. The force provided from the throw hit him squarely in the chest, and knocked the wind out of him completely. He was sent sprawling onto his backside in an extremely undignified manner.

Lying a few feet back from where he had stood, he wheezed and gasped for air, dust and dirt covering his back. His two friends helped him to his feet, and he eventually regained his balance.

His eyes locked on to the one who had knocked him down, and the boy's friends that sat behind him sniggering away at his misfortune.

"Can't you even catch?" The genius mocked.

He charged forward at a fast walk, his two cronies flanking him. "You bastard, Son!"

Gohan's four friends stood quickly and made their places right beside him, while the three girls that had been watching with bated breath also moved closer to the situation.

"You wanna get your teeth knocked out?!" He shouted. The majority of the school's populus that were stood outside stopped in their activities to witness the scene unfold.

Gohan's smirk had only widened, and most people in the vicinity, his own friends included, were a bit unsure as to why. Even if he had just thrown that ball like a professional, he wouldn't stand up to three muscle bound football players, would he?


	3. You're All Out Of Time

"Hey! Back off you dumb shit!" Gohan's friend Sam shouted to the enraged male before her. Gohan was still resolutely standing his ground, that uncharacteristic smirk still present on his face.

Currently, the tall male was actually enjoying himself, if he were simply a human, he could have a challenge set before him. His true self however, the side of him that was kept secret from almost everyone that knew him would have no trouble, he could knock them all over with a sneeze. And that sort of put a dampener on the whole situation. It would be so easy to snap each one of their necks.

But no, they didn't quite deserve that yet. For now, he would simply subdue them, humiliate them, show them exactly who they were dealing with. It was just a shame that this had been forced to wait almost the entire course of high school.

That was how long it had taken for Gohan's resolve to shatter.

"What the hell did you just call me?!" The 'dumb shit' shouted. Sam moved right in front of Gohan, perhaps thinking that the sportsman wouldn't dare to hit a girl. He knew that there was a flaw in her thinking, and a major one. If Gohan didn't step in, she would receive a fair beating, whether she was a male or a female.

The half saiyan placed an arm softly on her shoulder, to hold the girl back, but she was in full flow and shrugged him off immediately. She strode forward a few paces, to meet him halfway. By this point, the surrounding people had stopped in their tracks completely, following the action closely.

"I'm telling you that you are as thick as pig shit! Maybe if you stopped rolling around with men all of the time on a football field you might learn something and actually be able to do something with your life. You'd better not throw anything else at me."

"Or what?" He mocked.

The girl was flustered. What could she do? She took a moment to think, before coming up with an answer. As she began to speak, she realised how truly stupid it sounded. "I'll tell!" She screamed at him.

Her enemy burst out laughing, along with his friends. After recapturing his lost composure, he retorted. "You'll tell, huh? My mom's a teacher here. There's absolutely nothing that they can do to me."

The young woman was now angry beyond belief, and did the only thing that she could imagine making any difference. She pulled back her hand, and tried in vain to slap him across the cheek.

He was far too fast for her untrained body, and leaned back from the path of the blow with consummate ease.

"Bitch!!" He was outraged himself now, and swung back at her, but his own hand was formed into a strong fist.

Luckily for Sam, the friend behind was definitely not a normal boy. She cowered below a fist held steady still a foot from her face, and followed the arm down the wrist to the forearm, where a hand was wrapped tightly around it.

Videl stared at the scene before her, amazed at how it had unfolded. She was horrified to see that her boyfriend was so willing to hit a girl, even in the heat of the moment. Would he ever do that to her, the one that he 'loved'?

Her focus was on Gohan however, and at the fact that she had not even seem him move. One minute he was watching everything from ten feet away, the next he was in between the feuding pair.

She was closer to it now, and could clearly see Gohan's hand and arm. The long, strong looking fingers were enveloping Matthew's large arm, the ends digging in causing obvious pain, as seen on his face. It seemed as though the bully was trying to free himself, but was unable to.

The blue eyed girl wondered what strength a person must possess to so easily be able to contain a virtually fully grown man, and a fairly strong one at that, such was the look of ease on his face.

She studied the abnormally large hands, and traced along his slim wrists and slender but muscular forearms. The blood vessels were clearly evident beneath the skin all of the way along his arm, dozens of arteries and veins drawing a spider's web over his arm indicating the low body fat and well developed muscles.

Her gaze slowly travelled up to his handsome face, and she was shocked at what she saw. She looked around, and noticed that no one else quite saw the danger in this situation. Gohan's eyes were burning, and he looked way past furious. His dark orbs held nothing but murderous intent.

Since no one else was doing anything to halt these dangerous circumstances and since her boyfriend looked as though he was soon to burst out in tears, she decided to take action.

"Gohan! Please stop it."

The sound of her angelic voice calling out his name drifted into the saiyans's ears and he instantly snapped from his crazed mood. He originally intended to allow Sam to maintain her little war of words, but didn't think that she would actually resort to violence. But even so, if she had done worse, even kicked him in the crown jewels, he had no right to strike his friend.

When he was restraining his foe, he honestly felt like breaking the pathetic little arm at the elbow, maybe even snapping it off completely. It had taken all of his might not to transform, but once again an attack on one of those that he cared for almost drove him to madness.

However, the sound of the beauty's utterance brought him back with a bump. That sound was so soothing to his troubled soul, and it always managed to calm him down. He snapped his head in her direction, and immediately dropped his hold on the arm, thrusting it away from himself, and in doing so knocking its owner to the ground once again. He stared deeply into her eyes, and he could barely fathom the myriad of emotions held within them at that time.

The only thing that he was certain of was that they didn't hold much emotion or care for the one that everyone thought that she cared about. Those feelings were transferred to himself, and he knew that she didn't want to do anything that she might regret later, at least for his own sake. As well as hers. Or so he hoped that was how she felt.

But he didn't care about her for the minute. His murderous intent had vanished, replaced with the dominating need to humiliate the one sat in front of him.


	4. Ginger Roll Over

A smiling Gohan stood over his enemy, the fight over before it had begun, which it was just about to do. Matthew rose slowly and instantly charged at the one that he should be tormenting, not the other way round.

He went at Gohan with balled fists, striking out with his right first. Gohan easily rocked backwards on his heels, moving away from its path. The left hand came immediately afterwards with a similar force.

The saiyan almost absently swatted the hand away, while the other smacked the side of his foe's head with a palm, once again sending him sprawling to the floor. Once this had happened, the other two of Matthew's present friends also rushed forward.

Gohan felt them move before he even saw them, and cocked his head slightly in their direction. The smirk had vanished, replaced with a look of complete and cold fury. They both stopped in their tracks, skidding to a halt. The anger was emanating from the boy in waves, obvious to everyone in the vicinity. Gohan shook his head from side to side only a couple of times, indicating to them that if they came even a millimetre closer, they would surely be far out of their depths.

If they didn't want to lose the use of their arms for the next six weeks, they would stay well back. With those two successfully dealt with, the tall male turned his attention back to Matthew.

The one that had so ruthlessly tormented and bullied his friends for the past few years.

He was always the ringleader, always the one in charge.

The biggest and dumbest of the lot of them.

It was him that had pushed one of his best friends in a puddle of mud when they were thirteen, and given him the beating of his life. All because the poor soul had looked at him for a second too long. If only Gohan had been there.

It was also him that had forced another friend, the one that had attempted to stand up to him minutes before, Sam, to walk eight miles home a year ago when he wouldn't let her get off the bus, taking her all the way over into another town. If only Gohan had been there.

These incidents were joined by countless others, a lot of them far worse and Gohan wondered why it had taken all of these years for him to finally do something about it. He couldn't always be around to save the ones that he cared about, maybe if he had done this to him after the first time.

Matthew was up again, and came at him with a weak kick, he was clearly tired. Gohan felt bad about doing this to such a weak individual, but it had to be done. Of course a fairly substantial part of him was enjoying this.

He brought his own foot up, and crashed it down on an ankle, pinning it to the floor at an odd angle. The crowd winced at the howl of pain and the crunch that was barely audible. It wasn't broken, just a nice sprain to keep him out of action for a few weeks. Oh dear, what _would_ the football team do?

The sportsman was locked in place, and tried his luck with some weak blows to Gohan's chest. In one fluid motion, he grasped a wrist, and turned himself, lifting his foot and positioning himself behind his captive whose hand was now positioned behind his neck causing him untold agony.

"Look at the future wife beater now!" He shouted to the crowd, while looking right over at Videl, who held his icy gaze for a few moments.

Gohan had to crouch down to bring his mouth close to the ear of the one that he held in his grasp, who was now on his knees from exhaustion and the searing pain his ankle that was now coupled with the one that ran all of the way up his left arm.

"I could kill you right now." He whispered through clenched teeth, making sure that no one else could hear. He was pleased with the visible shudders that coursed through the body of his prisoner, but was slightly worried with the laugh that emerged from his lips.

"You better had kill me!" He screamed. "'Cause if you let me walk, you'll end up dead like your loser of a father!"

Gohan's resolve had snapped again, and the murderous intent in his eyes had returned ten fold. No one called his father a loser like that and got away with it lightly. Cell certainly hadn't, and this joker before him wasn't going to either.

"Shit!" She hissed. She had to do something, and do it right now. Somehow she knew that she was the only one present who would actually be able to make a difference. She shot forward out of desperation, physically she could do nothing to him, not after seeing the sudden show of strength he had displayed to the crowd, but maybe if she brought in the emotions that she was adamant that existed between the two of them, she could do some damage.

Gohan's hands seemed to be debating the best way to kill him, whether a blow to his thick skull, a snap of his neck or a sharp whack to the pressure points around his neck. Piccolo had taught him that one.

He was just deciding which one would make the least mess when he felt the delicate and soft skin of two feminine hands on his own rough ones that he realised just what he was doing.

The sweet smell of her fragrance drifted into his nose and he suddenly realised that he was about to kill someone for being what was essentially a petty, normal bully. He had allowed the power to take him again, and he forced the lid back down on it again.

His brain tried to decipher exactly what she smelt like, a mixture of chemicals in her perfume and her own unique scent that only his keen and powerful nose could detect.

While entering this trance like state, he had allowed her to softly pry his hands from around Matthew's neck, and walk him backwards from the scene, her hands lightly guiding him, still holding his own.

"Well help him you idiots!" She shouted to the two that were supposedly her boyfriend's best friends, motioning towards him. She then looked back at Gohan's face. He looked tired and worn, but not physically. Unseen emotional wounds had been opened today, brought about by his little tussle.

He was looking down at the ground, and she moved her head closer to him, looking up at his eyes, searching for them, wanting contact with his dark hues. She found them quickly, and gave him what she hoped was an encouraging smile.

Gohan found himself once again brought out of his troubled state by her eyes, that at the minute were looking up at him with a soft expression. He was amazed at how they could be so soft and gentle one minute, but sharp and acute the next. He was drawn to them like a moth to a flame. He was drawn to her in much the same way, and he was constantly perplexed as to what existed between the two of them.

Matthew sat on the floor rubbing his neck, wondering just why _his_ girlfriend, was standing there with _him_, actually holding _his_ damn fucking hands. _Holding his hands!_ Shouldn't she be over here, helping him, smiling at him, looking into his eyes with that same compassion.

Every head in the area turned and forgot their current thoughts however when the familiar screech of the headmistress was heard, a voice akin to nails scraping down a blackboard. "Gohan Son!"


	5. Ginger Catch The Frisbee

"Man, that was intense." Erasa softly spoke.

"Sure was. Gohan gave Matthew a pretty good hiding. Are you embarrassed that your boyfriend got beat so easily by such a dork, Videl?" Bella asked.

"Hmm, what?" Videl said, the question bringing her from deep within her thoughts. "Not really." She answered quickly.

"What's going on between the two of you anyway, you looked like you were about to kiss Gohan back there!" Erasa said, her voice still shrill even after her excitement had died down.

"Nothing, it's nothing." She replied, wondering exactly what was going on between them, because it was most certainly _not_ nothing.

"That would be so funny, don't you think? If Videl slept with Gohan or something." The blonde broke out laughing, on her own.

"I think that she's got a point you know. What if something _did_ happen? Then you'd know what was going on."

"Yeah Videl, if you let something happen, you might actually get over this little thing you have for him, and realise that you shouldn't be attracted to geeks like that." To Videl, Erasa's twisted logic made perfect sense. Maybe if she simply even kissed with Gohan, she might realise what she had in Matthew.

"I'll give you a fifty if you sleep with him before finals, but if you don't, you owe me." Bella said. "Go on, I _dare you_!"

* * *

"But he provoked me! He was going to hit Samantha Flowers. Can you believe that he was about to hit a girl?! And _I'm _the one in trouble. What the hell is wrong with you?" Gohan 'pleasantly' asked the principal of his school.

For now she coolly ignored his comments that warranted a suspension in their own right, if not expulsion, and continued her 'chat' with him. "I saw the whole thing Gohan."

"Well obviously not if you missed that." He retorted back at her.

"What I saw Mr Son, with my very own eyes was you giving one of our star football players a sound beating, one that seemed just a little unfair in my opinion. Matthew Hamilton is an exemplary student and a fine individual, I find it hard to believe that he would strike a female. You know that his mother is a professor here, his father is a policeman. Perhaps you are too smart for your own good."

She smirked at Gohan, one that he instantly thought looked a little odd. It wasn't quite evil, but it was somewhere along the line. Right now the woman sat in front of him was very near the top of his most hated list. He was abruptly shaken from his thoughts by a knock at the door.

"Come in." The old woman informed the knocker, who entered immediately. Gohan was hardly shocked to see who it was. Mrs Hamilton, the mother of the one he had just fought entered with a look not dissimilar from the headmistress'. He frowned, realising that these two were most definitely in cahoots together, trying to bring him down.

"Mrs Hamilton is a very close friend of mine Mr Son, and as I have demonstrated, I know her son fairly well." Just as he suspected.

"May I ask Gohan, why you would pick a fight with my son?" Gohan was becoming infuriated, having been asked the question over and over again already.

"Because your son is an evil little shit." He replied as calmly as possible.

"How dare you! I have never been so insulted..." Gohan smiled, he had struck a nerve with that one.

"You know that it's true." He continued. "And you know that it is all your fault. You should be proud, you've raised a brilliant young man, capable of future horrors only God knows of." Gohan was actually worried about Matthew's sanity now, after that hideous cackle he had unleashed, seconds after being threatened with death. Gohan knew that that was far from what could be called a normal reaction.

The elder of the two woman piped up. "All I know is that you not only almost broke that poor boy's ankle and arm, but you also threatened to kill him."

"What I said was that I _could_ kill him."

"And you think that makes it better?"

Hmm, maybe not. But still, he would never actually go and kill the guy.

"I'm sorry Gohan, but I'm going to have to suspend you for at _least_ two weeks. That is the minimum that I can enforce for such a serious offence, and I may have to bring in the maximum if you cause any more trouble. You are lucky that Mrs Hamilton won't be involving the police." He looked over at her smug face, and his anger spilled over once again.

"Are you fucking blind!? He has continuously victimised my friends for years, and the one time, the_ one _time that he gets taught a lesson, I get suspended."

"Sadly Mr Son, you have never been able to prove any of these assaults or verbal attacks. I'm beginning to think that you should visit some sort of psychiatrist for your, shall we say, over active imagination." Mrs Hamilton was attempting to stifle her sniggers, and the bitch of a principal had by far the most conceited look he had ever seen before on her face. Just because he was smarter than them, he was victimised by them, the ones who could actually do damage to him by suspending him.

"After everything that I've done for this stupid school!" He shouted at them, and now they looked a little frightened, the smugness erased from their faces. Mrs Deepneau, the principle stood up, however, and faced him.

"Despite your achievements, you may have cost us an entire season's hard work in the..."

"Fucking American Football! Is that all you care about. You ignore the important aspects of the school in favour of that, just because your husband is a washed up pro?"

"That is it Mr Son, I never want to see your face at this school for lessons _ever _again! You will not return for the final three months of school." She calmed herself a little before continuing. "Of course you will have to return for your final examinations."

"You have got to be kidding me!" He rose slowly, shock written all over his face. What would his mother say? Of course to him, this wasn't a problem, it would be easier to study alone, but his mother would not be too pleased. And as for his friends, who would look after them?

"You should leave _right now_. I will send work from your teachers with one of the students that lives close to you. Doesn't that girl Videl Satan live next door to you?"


	6. Ginger Do My Taxes

The expelled Gohan Son trudged silently home from the school, over the short distance of about a mile. Everything around him was a blur, the buildings, the cars and the people all went by without a second glance from the demi saiyan.

He wasn't really that worried about his mother, sure she would shout a lot, as usual and scold him for his behaviour, but it was nothing he hadn't handled before. What really worried him was the fact that his best friends would now be alone and vulnerable for the next few months.

He would have to do something about that. He couldn't do anything else to Matthew, for fear of a prison sentence but maybe if he put the boy's friends off the idea of ever bothering his own, all would be sorted. That would be easy enough.

There was something, or rather someone else lurking within his mind, a matter that seemed to overshadow all other problems, casting them into a darkness. A small smile tugged at his lips as he thought of her skin upon his own for those brief moments and the gentle smile playing on her features.

Her small hands holding his own, the way she searched out his eyes and smiled up at him. She was beautiful when she smiled, far more so when she was smiling at him. He couldn't help but realise that she had come to him, and not her supposed boyfriend in that moment. She had comforted him, eased him from his angered state.

And that worried him. Thoughts ran through his vexed mind at the repercussions that could entail. What if Matthew took offence to that? Would he do the same to Videl as what he was about to do to Samantha Flowers.

He would not allow that to happen. He cared for her, he knew that much, but as to just how far his affection ran, he had no clue. The thought that he might love her had not even entered his thoughts yet, and he was glad for that. That would certainly complicate matters further.

He thought over the reasons why he might care for her. Their relationship sure was an odd one. They had lived only yards apart nearly all of their lives, Gohan moving into the house next door when they were still crawling around over carpets. They had remained firm friends until high school, when the drift had begun.

She had been a pretty girl and instantly attracted the attention of the popular crowds that formed so easily, even if they had not existed as such before hand. Gohan himself couldn't afford to be discovered, so he steered well clear of all situations that might uncover his secrets. That included public gatherings such as parties and all sports teams.

Plus the fact that they all annoyed him to death. Except for her, he always had time for her, and she for him. They still wandered home after school together, always at a snail's pace, laughing and joking, enjoying each other's company outside of the confines of education.

They had remained on these amicable terms until Videl fell in with her current crowd, which included her boyfriend, whom Gohan had despised for a long time beforehand. After that, Gohan ignored the girl, his anger at her 'betrayal' was unequalled. Sometimes he even felt that he hated her for not stopping her boyfriend in his bullying tactics, but now he realised that maybe she had tried. But that idiot seemed way beyond reason.

He sure was in a pickle. First things first, he would deal with his irate mother, who had no doubt already received a phone call from the principal herself.

----------------

Later on that night, there was a knocking at the Son's door. Young Goten, only nine years old jumped up quickly, always willing to answer the door. "I'll get it!" He informed the household.

Videl heard the commotion coming from inside the house and smiled to herself. She hadn't really spoken to any of the Son's that much in the last two years, not after she fell out of favour with Gohan.

The door was pulled open wildly from inside, and the light and warmth hit her quickly. She was presented with what looked almost a clone of a pre-teen Gohan. She hadn't realised how much Goten had grown up.

"Hiya Videl!" He exclaimed cheerfully.

"Hi Goten, nice to see you again. I can't believe how much you've grown." With the formalities over with, she proceeded onto the point of her arrival. "Is your brother home?"

"Uh-huh, I'll go get him. Do you wanna come in and wait?"

She was a little nervous about entering the house she hadn't been in for so long, in case there was a huge awkwardness between her and Gohan on what would definitely be called 'Son territory'. Or at least Gohan's territory, Chichi had absolutely no problems with the girl.

A calm, deep voice halted her as she stepped through the door frame. "There'll be no need for her to come in. We can speak outside." She saw the imposing figure of Gohan framed by light pouring from a source behind him.

She was slightly taken aback at the fact that he wouldn't even let her in his home, but brushed it aside, he had been this way with her for such a long time now. But he was so hot and cold, she couldn't understand it. Gohan was not normally the type to speak that way, he was such a well mannered, good boy, always out to please everyone else but himself.

Sometimes he would act so cold towards her, but occasionally they had their moments, like today when she held his hands in her own. She could have stood like that forever, but that bitch Deepneau had to go and ruin it for her, removing the chills that ran down her spine during the contact, along with the butterflies dancing in her stomach.

What should she say to him? Tell him that she had agreed to that stupid bet, and ask him to make love to her right now. She suddenly realised that she hadn't questioned the fact that she had agreed to lose her virginity to Gohan. "I was sent here by the principal." She rooted around in her shoulder bag for the sheets that she had been given, every so often glancing up at him stood leaning against his porch, his arms crossed defensively over his chest.

She was getting even more nervous as his harsh gaze kept up its relentless assault on her. It seemed as though she might be pissing him off a bit, wasting his time while she tried to find the work for him. "I know I've got it here somewhere." She mumbled to him.

He seemed to notice the effect that he was having on her and relinquished his powerful gaze from her face. "It's all right." He said softly, calming her down a small amount.

She soon found them, looking crumpled and a little worse for wear, but still readable, and handed them over to his awaiting hands. "Thanks." He told her.

"Um, Gohan, can I ask you something?"

"What?" He said in a neutral tone.

"I was wondering, since you have so much time on your hands now." He chuckled a little at this. "Would you help me a little?" She tentatively questioned.

"With school work? I thought that you were doing fine."

"I guess I've just slipped a bit. So? Will you?"

"No, I don't think so." He replied.

She was a little peeved at his instant dismissal of her request. "Please Gohan, for old time's sake. We used to be friends. _Best_ friends."

"Yeah, _used_ to be." He turned on his heel, straight back into his home. Videl stood there dumbfounded, she hadn't expected him to take her in his arms and tell her that she was forgiven, but she at least would have liked a little kindness from him.


	7. I Didn't Lose My Mind

"That was a little harsh of you Gohan." Chichi told him while shaking her head, having seen and heard the entire exchange between the two eighteen year olds. "Perhaps this could be a reconciliation for the two of you."

"I've told you time and time again mom, we are no longer friends, can't you get it through your head? You know why and I won't tell you again."

"You are being so petty. All because she went out with someone that you didn't approve of. You're just jealous of this Matthew character aren't you?"

"There you go again! That's another thing that I have told you over and over. I am _not_ in love with Videl Satan." He informed her for what he hoped was the last time.

"If your father were here, he would be able to talk some sense into you. Even Goten knows what you should be doing, don't you honey?"

The dark haired nine year old chimed in with what he thought was the ideal solution. "You and Videl should get married and then she'd be like my big sister and you'd have lots of kids and you'd be happy and I'd be happy 'cause I'd be like their uncle and-"

"Shut up Goten." Gohan snapped, halting the younger saiyan in his tracks, before he ran out of breath completely from his non-stop sentence.

"You've just been _expelled _from school Gohan, and you're lucky I went easy on you. It's a good job that your university place is certain, or otherwise they might not accept you after this incident. Don't screw this up, you two were such good friends when you were kids, can't you at least do her this one favour? For me?" She was guilt tripping him now, using the fact that he got away from his expulsion without major punishment from his mother.

"Don't do this." He pleaded with her.

"You were never one to shy away from helping someone in need. Especially someone that you care about."

He looked his mother in the eye, and saw that this was something that she really appeared to care about. Was his friendship with Videl Satan really _that_ important? He had been wary about resurrecting that relationship because he didn't want to go through the self inflicted pain that he brought about on himself when he lost her. It was his choice to end their time as friends.

He had always thought that as unsuitable as Matthew was for her, that she was actually happy and that she would always be happy. He didn't want to interfere within her life, to ruin any chance of romance that she might have. But maybe in order to protect her now, he would have to become close to her again. Pretty soon his head was going to explode.

Quickly weighing up his multitude of options, Gohan decided on the best course of action. He almost ripped the door off its hinges in his haste to reach the girl before she got back to her own abode, where she would most likely ignore him after that little incident.

Chichi had a broad smile on her face as she realised that the few words she had just uttered had changed his mind completely.

------------------

"Videl, wait!" He shouted to the retreating form of his former best friend. Defiantly she continued to walk home, undeterred from her current course of action. "Will you stop walking away from me!?" He asked her far from politely, having just caught up to her.

The girl turned her head from his face, inches from her own in a blatant show of anger at the boy who had just so cruelly dismissed her. Her chin jutted out in another defiant pose as she closed in on her front door.

Realising that words were having little or no effect on her, Gohan felt that it was time for actions and firmly grasped her upper arm, much like he had done when he saved her life on that occasion, rescuing her from that speeding vehicle.

He pulled on it hard, twirling her sharply around like a rather ungainly and untalented ballerina. She had been forced to look at him now, his body towering over her own, a look of sorrow in his eyes, at what he had just done. At least he was instantly rectifying the situation.

"What?!" She spat out, anger laced within her voice along with an undertone of sadness and resignation. She was pleased that his mind had been changed, most likely by his mother, but felt a slight unhappiness at the fact that it had taken the older woman to sway him. But at least he was here now.

"I'm sorry." He said, not out of breath even in the slightest. "I shouldn't have been like that, you came to me as a friend for help and I didn't even think it over properly."

She looked up at him, a playful smile on her lips. Currently, a number of things were circulating in her mind. That little bet with Bella, or whatever you wanted to call it was one of those things. Her friends had no clue as to how strong her emotions were towards this boy, they just thought that it would be a good laugh to toy with his feelings. In their opinion, she would not actually do anything with him.

If common consensus were true, he would panic and leave in a rush the second that she was within touching distance, and on Monday morning her and the rest of them would howl themselves to tears with their cruel laughter.

And in some ways she hoped that that scenario would be half true. She would realise how stupid this little 'crush' of hers was, maybe get so far as to kiss him, and then all in her life would be revealed. As expected of her, she would discover that she was destined to marry someone like Matthew, be an obedient housewife and give him a couple of kids. Of course she would not allow anyone to laugh at Gohan. Never Gohan. As if he needed her protection anyway.

Sure, his feelings would be hurt, but he would get over her soon enough, find someone for himself and live a wonderful life, one full of adventure and fulfilment, owing to his genius that would take him places that she could only dream of.


	8. It Was Mine To Give Away

The playful smile that was present on her rose red lips was unintentional and would give the game away, but the girl knew that she would be figured soon enough by the one before her, he was much too smart for tricks like that.

"What if I don't accept your apology?" She questioned.

He looked instantly put out. "And why would you want to do something like that?"

"Why would you not want to help one of your oldest friends when she is need of a tutor?"

"Maybe I do, I just didn't realise it straight away." That was good sign, there was no contradiction to the term 'oldest friend'.

The blue eyed female looked down in a momentary lapse of confidence, and peered back up at him through her fluttering eyelashes. "So...you'll agree to help me?"

"Of course, what are old friends for? That is, I'll help you if your _boyfriend_ will let me." As if he could do anything about it, they both silently said within the confines of their minds.

"Hmm, maybe it would be best if we don't tell him about it."

"It's not like I tend to run into him or anything, we're hardly on amicable terms."

"That's for good reason, I know what he would say if I were hanging out with another boy." She chuckled a little, amusement dancing within her orbs at the flashback of the 'fight' between Gohan and her boyfriend.

"So what do you actually need help with?" He asked her. They had slowly ambled to her doorway.

"A little of everything really, I've let it all go a bit lately, with all of the sports and clubs and whatever else there is. I've just been so busy."

He smiled a little at the thought of playing teacher, it was something that he had often found himself thinking about doing in some form or another as a profession.

"If you could come around once a week or so for now, and maybe a little more often when we get closer?" She asked sheepishly, wondering if it was a bit much to ask.

"Ok, that's fine by me." He said, with a shrug of his shoulders. "I'll come by Thursday when you get back."

She slowly opened the oak door leading to the entrance hall of her home. "Mm-Hm." She mumbled. He turned with a smile on his face and paced back to his own home.

Closing the door behind her, she leant up against it sighing out loud. Their conversation had been short lived but they were finally back on proper terms, good terms in her book. Now she just hoped that what would follow wouldn't completely ruin that.

Weeks went by quickly, as they always tend to do upon the approach to examinations. They went quickly for the majority of the seniors at Gohan's former high school, but one, the teenage boy in question had one of the most boring few months of his life, reading over studies that he already knew by heart, but was forced to revise by his overbearing mother.

The evenings spent helping Videl were not so boring however, and he found himself enjoying the time spent with her. When teaching, subjects never seemed quite so dull. Or maybe it was the company that he was keeping.

It was just like old times, they would joke, laugh and talk for endless hours and the two of them realised what they had been missing. Sure, each had their own circle of friends, but what there was between them was different. Something inexplicable that neither would allow themselves to comprehend.

Gohan knocked sharply on her front door much like he had done on past occasions while tutoring her. He had seen her return home from school, waiting for a couple of hours and going by straight after dinner. It was a Friday, and she had asked him to come by as often as he could as the most important exams in their life to date were beginning next week.

She welcomed him in with her bright smile as always, that never failed to astound him with its radiance. As he crossed through the portal into her home, he noticed that she wasn't heading along the normal route to the dining room where the large table was located, where they could easily accommodate all of the necessary work books.

She appeared to be heading upstairs. The male simply assumed that she must just be going to fetch something from her bedroom, so he continued his path to the usual work area.

"Where are you going?" She asked, a few steps up.

"To the table. Where else?" He replied, dumbfounded at her expression, she was smiling an almost coy smile down at him. What was she up to?

"We need to work in my room tonight, my father has a load of work crap on the table." A little white lie wouldn't do any harm.

"Oh..." He was more than a little nervous at entering her room, her own private space. When they were younger, she had constantly been in his own bedroom, that was harmless, but her father wouldn't allow boys into her own, no matter how pure their intentions. He wondered if he still followed those rules, even when she was eighteen years old.

"Come on." She almost sang out, skipping up the rest of the staircase. He followed slowly behind her, not wanting to seem too eager to be following her up to her room.

After hours of studying chemical equations and the intricacies of Bradshaw's model of river course ways, Videl felt about ready to go to bed. Her desk was small, and the two of them were huddled around the thick books located on it, their faces unwittingly only inches apart.

She turned her head a little, to inform him of her tiredness, and he did the same thing at exactly the same time. Their noses collided softly, each rubbing gently on the other. Suddenly the conversation that she had had with her friends about that 'bet' sprang back into her mind. Now was the perfect time to put that plan into action, to test herself, to see if she could have him.

They were both staring into one another's eyes in a moment that was probably being replicated all over the world a thousand times over. Videl's heart was racing like a thoroughbred within her chest, and it really shouldn't have been.

As annoying and unbalanced as her boyfriend was, he was the only one that should be making her feel like that. But he had never made her feel like this. It didn't matter that she had never felt like this around anyone, including him before. The physical attraction between Videl and Gohan had become painfully clear, but the emotional one was still yet to be revealed fully.

His breath was tickling on her lips, but by no means in a way that was amusing. In a moment of madness, she slowly closed her eyes and softly pressed her lips against his own, but felt them pull back sharply. Opening her eyes, she saw him with a more than startled look on his face.

This was what was supposed to have happened, and now she would realise what a wonderful man she had in Matthew. But she didn't. Why did she want to kiss him again, and why did she want him to respond back this time?

Luckily he was still only about a foot from her, and hadn't jumped out of the window. Her hand drifted up to the back of his head, slender fingers entwining within strands of thick black hair.

"Don't..." He mumbled.

"Why not?" She whispered back.

"Your father?"

"He went out hours ago, we're all alone." She pulled him closer and kissed him again. And this time he actually kissed her back. His arms found themselves around her waist, lifting her easily from her chair onto his lap. Still kissing her, he stood up and searched for a more comfortable position.

Stumbling over towards her bed, he fell down onto it with her beneath him. Her hand still rested within his hair as he slowly traced a line down her neck with his mouth. She moaned a little at his actions, and she wondered how he knew what he was doing.

He was lying beside her, half of his body on top of her own. He moved a hand slowly beneath the soft fabric of her shirt feeling the warmth of the flat stomach underneath his palm. His hand moved along her thin waist and up the side of her body and along her ribcage, allowing it to come to rest beneath her breast, touching it only slightly.

She arched her back up sharply, moaning and gasping out loud again at even this simple action. Did he know what he was doing to her?


	9. Red Is Anger

Gohan ever so slowly and methodically opened one eye. He was greeted only by darkness. As was the usual custom, he opened the next. Allowing his gaze to focus in the twilight, he noticed a number of things, which added to those detected by his other senses did nothing but worry the young saiyan.

He could feel something soft pressing against a large proportion of his body, that eerily felt like one leg coiled around one of his own, arms loosely holding him and the torso, a very well developed torso, pushed up against his own chest.

Additionally, he could hear a soft pattern of breathing emanating from beneath him, one that was not his own, as well as the tell tale aroma of perfume mingled with other smells he just couldn't describe or put a name to, something that only he and the other saiyans on the planet would manage to detect, something far too faint for humans to pick up on. That smell also seemed to be lingering as a taste in his mouth.

Back to his sight, he realised what all of this meant and the night before came flooding back to the male. His eyes had now adjusted to the poor light conditions and the lumpy form beneath him was revealed to him.

He became aware that his face was buried in a mass of silky black hair. He knew of only four people apart from himself on the planet who had such a darkness in their locks. Somehow he doubted that it could be Vegeta. Goten did not have breasts, and it sure as hell had better not be his mother!

That left one option, there was only one possibility as to who this was and he wondered just why he had allowed himself to be sucked in like he had. What kind of games was she playing at? He had to get out of this situation and return to reality. He could figure out why Videl Satan had come on to him the night before and then slept with him.

He had no pity for the girl, all he felt was anger at her for playing with him like this. Without worrying too much about waking her, he pushed her from his arms, and she groaned at he disturbance and loss of warmth and protection that his arms provided her body.

He rolled away to sit on the side of the soft bed that was not his own and searched for his clothes. Finding the majority of them with his eyes, he went to pick them up, dressing with haste. Shrugging on his shirt, he turned to see his 'lover' lying on her side, smiling up at him. All he saw however was an evil smirk on her face, obviously happy with what she had done to him.

"Where are you going?" She asked, perplexed at his odd behaviour. She thought that the night before had been something special between the two of them, something to remember, but he didn't look like he was in a good mood with her at all.

"How could you do that to me? Why would you do it?" He seethed at her.

"What are you talking about? I thought that was what we both wanted."

"I don't know what kind of world you are living in Videl, but that was not what I was expecting from you." He chuckled, as to why, he didn't know. This was hardly an amusing situation. "I bet this that this was something you and your friends cooked up. Was that boyfriend of yours in on it too?"

She looked away, ashamed at her actions. If he ever found out that it was a dare, a bet...

"So, what was it, did someone double dare you or something?" He asked, hardly expecting that to be exactly what was going on. She glanced up quickly and then away again. He could read her like an open book. "You've got to be kidding me?! A dare! How could you do something like this, toy with someone's emotions with such callousness?" He turned to leave, before realising that he still had plenty more to say. The young woman was surprised at his outburst. She hadn't slept with him because of the bet, she had done it because she loved him. At that moment, that fact became painfully clear. She was in love with him.

"You walk around school, swishing that hair of yours about." She lightly touched a hand to the end of her hair at what he said. "Strutting about with your self importance. I always thought that you were still different from your friends, a bit better, but you aren't. One of them obviously gave you the idea, but I don't think that any of them would actually sink to this level just for a laugh. You're so much worse than the others Videl. That insane boyfriend is a saint compared to you." She was dumbfounded.

"I hear that the two of you are going to get married after we leave school. Everyone says that you two are _in love_. So why don't you get back to him?" She stood up quickly, bringing her sheet with her for cover, wrapping it tightly around her body.

"I don't love him. And I have never even said that I do." She looked down at her feet, shuffling slightly. "I don't even like him. I don't know what you may have heard to the contrary, but you were my first. I never did it with him."

"Tell it to someone who cares Videl." He turned once again to leave, this time for good.

"Wait!" She cried.

"What?!" He snapped.

"I didn't make love to you because of a bet, I did it because I..." His face contorted into one of anger and interest at what she had to say.

"Look Videl, the bottom line is you slept with me because someone dared you to. Now I see why our friendship dissolved in the first place, and why it should _never_ be resurrected again. I'd prefer if we never spoke of this. I'd prefer it if we never spoke."

"You can't mean that? I thought that we were friends again. I thought that we were more than friends." She was pleading with him now, almost begging him not to leave her.

He gave a resigned sigh, and looked away. The look in her eyes was unbearable and contradicted everything that he now thought of her, and showed him exactly what he hoped was within her. But her actions showed for themselves. "I should go, my mother will be worried about me..." And with that, he did.


	10. Red Is Passion

Gohan silently exited the Satan house and entered his own. It was still early and he hoped that his mother was still in bed asleep, and that last night she had assumed that he would return soon. She went to bed pretty early anyway, so he could tell her that she must of just missed his return.

He didn't take into account Chichi's unfathomable worry for her son, despite there being nothing on the planet that could bring him to harm. She sat at the kitchen table, a fresh mug of coffee before her. How she had managed to stay awake all night she had no clue.

Upon hearing the tell tale click of the front door opening, she quickly brought her eyes level to where her son's would be in just a few moments. The door swung open slowly, revealing the crouched silhouette of Gohan, who obviously thought that he had got off scot free.

She groped out to her right hand side into the pitch darkness, reaching for the light switch. Flicking it with deadly efficiency, she swamped the room with light.

His pupils contracting rapidly, Gohan thrust his eyes closed to save them from the harsh brightness. He didn't dare open his eyes for fear of what might be before him. Images of his mother with her strong fingers wrapped around the handle of a weapon of some sort ran though his mind. Quickly however, he realised that he had more on his mind than the fury of his mother.

The way that he had read the girl next door's emotions so easily, as if she were an open book frightened him somewhat and it was playing on his mind. Her body language and the look in her eyes spoke volumes to him. Her response to the way that he had accused her of being dared to do that with him may have meant nothing to a simple bystander, but to him it meant everything.

He opened his eyes to see his mother with a sad and worried look on her face, rather than an angered one. "And where have _you_ been?" She questioned.

He sighed loud enough for her to hear. He didn't need this right now, and he couldn't think of a worthy excuse. He walked towards her, his head hung low. "I was out."

"Out _where_? The last time I saw you, you went next door to tutor Videl."

"I'm not in the mood for this mother."

"I was up all night worrying about you and all you have to say is that you aren't in the mood. No Gohan. I won't take that as an answer."

"Would you stop it? I'm sick of this overbearing nature of yours! I'm eighteen years old, I can do whatever I like."

She looked none too pleased at his little outburst. "I am your mother and I can do whatever I like young man." She appeared to calm a little, and reached out to stroke the side of his face with her palm in a soothing manner, much like she used to do when he was a youngster. "I'm just worried about you, that's all. Is that so hard for you to understand?"

He flinched back as she made contact, causing her to recoil, the hurt evident on her face. "I do understand, but pretty soon you are going to have to let go completely. You have another son to take care of, so go take care of him instead." He breezed past her, avoiding looking her in the eye, not allowing her to see his face properly, thinking that it would give everything away.

* * *

Videl sat at the desk, her back aching due to the uncomfortable chair and prolonged period of constant sitting. At least she knew most of the answers, Gohan's tutoring had definitely helped in that department. She looked over to him now, sat on her right hand side, allowed back into the school to take the final tests they would do in high school, this one being the very last one.

He was busy writing away, filling the spaces provided for the answers with consummate ease. He was obviously having no trouble at all. He would get perfect scores on every single one of his examinations and go off to one of the world's top universities, leaving her to attend Orange Star.

She would be left alone with her dizzy friends and idiot of a boyfriend, whom she was now considering getting rid of. She wondered where that rumour about her getting married had come from. She had never agreed to anything like that. If Matthew thought that she was going to marry him, he was a bigger fool than she thought.

Yes, she would be all alone. Gohan had finished now, sat back lazily in his seat, eyes staring fixatedly forward, the male not allowing himself to be distracted by the one on his left. He had ignored her completely since that morning, and refused point blank to even acknowledge her as he entered the room that they were seated in now.

The principal had decided that she would invigilate this examination, and saw that he had finished. She hated that boy, the exact reason unknown even to her. With a smirk on her pallid and wrinkled face, she ambled on up to him and whispered down to him. "If you are finished, I want you out."

He stood without a word, towering over her. He turned a little to the dark haired the girl that he once thought that he loved, looking at her for what he assumed would be the last time in his life. She caught his eye and for a fleeting moment, saw the complex web of emotions held behind them.

He held his gaze and she looked away. She was too ashamed to even stare into his eyes for more than three seconds. If only that stupid dare had never been made. She damned Erasa and Bella for it was all their fault. If it had not been made, maybe the two of them would have found their way to each other, in a way that would not make Gohan hate her with a passion unrivalled.

She peeked up again after his back was turned and watched him being escorted from the hall by the haggard old woman, as did the rest of the teenagers in the room. Every single one of them returned to their papers only moments after he had left, suddenly realising the importance of the sheets in front of them.

Videl however didn't allow her gaze to waver, staring at the door he had just left through. That couldn't be the last that she would see of him. As much as he could hide from her in his attempts to ignore her, or as much as she wanted to hide from him her shame, she would have to find him, talk to him and explain everything.

She at least wanted to be forgiven on some level, to tell him the truth, that that bet had meant nothing, that she had wanted him for years. Loved him for years even. She had to make him see, to make him understand. Maybe then she could be at peace, even if he chose to never see her again after that, she could be at peace knowing that she was forgiven.


	11. Red Is Forgiveness

Gohan sat on the curb of the road opposite the entrance to his former school, awaiting his friends. Maybe he had been a little hasty when he had thought to himself that he would never have to look at her face again, to gaze into her eyes, to see her smile...Well, he could go on like that for hours.

He had completely forgotten that he had agreed to go out with a few of his best and oldest friends after the last exam, and this ruined his perfect plan of removing this town and the majority of its inhabitants from his mind. He was currently steadying himself for what he hoped truly would be the last time that he would look upon her.

After sitting for an hour, he was more than bored. The principal just couldn't wait to get rid of him, but she wouldn't allow anyone else to leave so he had been waiting completely alone.

As the door suddenly opened, he looked up to see the first ones to be free from forced education. Searching the crowd he saw the familiar faces of his companions through his teenage years. Behind them lurked Videl and her cronies.

They came into view now, the six that seemed to be the 'core' of the group. Videl was in fact wandering behind the other five, her eyes downcast. She looked as beautiful as ever, but he disciplined himself. He could not begin to have those types of thoughts. But she looked so lost and it was tearing him apart. He stood and crossed the quiet street to greet his friends.

As they all walked together along the pavement, he noticed that among the ones going in their direction were those six, who were right behind them, the males refraining from their usual remarks in fear of another beating at the hands of a rampaging Gohan. He heard a quickening of footsteps behind him and instantly knew who it was. He even knew the sound of her foot falls.

"Gohan." Was all he heard from a soft voice. He chose not to respond for the minute. She gave an almost inaudible cry of anguish, as if he had been ignoring her talking to him for days. In a way he had, but he hadn't even given her the chance to see him let alone speak to him. "Would you just talk to me?!" She screamed, turning the heads of those in the immediate surroundings.

He whipped around rapidly but she maintained her ground, despite there being mere inches between them as he bent a little to make easier contact with her eyes. "Yes?" He snapped.

"I'm sorry for what I did." Was all she could say.

"You're sorry? Well, all right. You're forgiven." He replied nonchalantly.

"What?" She was shocked at the ease of his acceptance, and she was hardly about to accept it.

"I _said" _He spoke in an exasperated tone. "You're forgiven. I mean, it isn't like you did anything that terrible." The look in his eyes hardly agreed with his words. "Plenty more fish in the sea." He whispered, for her ears only. "I'll get over you soon, you were hardly anything special to me anyway."

Those words hurt her, he was being vicious now, trying to purposely hurt her. "I know that that isn't true." She said out loud. He shrugged his shoulders.

"I think that this is goodbye Videl."

"Don't leave things like this between us. At least forgive me properly, you can at least give me that much. I just need to know that you don't hate me."

He honestly felt as though he had never seen a person look so sad and dejected. Maybe he had been a little harsh on her so far. Perhaps he could forgive her. But nothing more. He was still blinded by his powerful emotions and couldn't see the truth. The only reason that he thought she had spent that night with him was because of her friends. It couldn't possibly be because her feelings for him were just as powerful as his own for her.

He sighed and actually smiled down upon her. She took that as a good sign. "I can forgive you, and you should know that I could never hate you. Not truly. But I don't think that I will ever forget you or what you've done to me. The good things as well as the bad things."

"What the hell is going on here?" Matthew had muscled his way onto the scene, grasping Videl tightly by the upper arm. She shrugged him off, feeling disgusted at the contact, and wincing at the physical pain that he caused her. "Stop talking to my girlfriend you freak." Gohan just smiled at the unfortunate fellow, and then down at Videl.

"_He_ is someone that I hate. And I hope that you get away from him soon Videl. Very soon." Gohan was indeed worried, and felt a little badly about leaving her here alone with him, he felt as though he needed to protect her and he was the only one who could. But he had to be strong, she could take care of herself. If she came to any serious harm however, he would be back here in an instant. He would know, he was sure of that.

Matthew began dragging Videl away, back to his own friends. Videl allowed herself to be pulled along, but was slightly surprised at his strength, he had never seemed quite this strong before. But she felt blissfully happy, she was forgiven. All she had to do know was to make him admit his feelings to her, and admit her own. Then all would be resolved, and they could be together. She mouthed a silent 'thank you' to him. He nodded to her and smiled as his friends began asking their questions.


	12. Red Is Hatred

A few days later, Videl walked slowly round to her soon to be ex-boyfriend's home. She wasn't nervous about hurting his feelings, that wasn't even bottom of the pile. That little problem didn't even register.

What she was worried about was how he would take it. Everything had become clear to her, the signs were all there. The teenager's mental health was questionable, something that had become clear relatively recently and she was worried that he might harm himself. Along with that, his strength had exploded. Not so much that he was an unstoppable killing machine, but enough to worry the girl.

She was strong from her training in martial arts as a youngster, something few knew about, and a year ago, Matthew would have been no problem physically, but now she was not so sure. Her skills were not quite what they used to be so his strength would overwhelm her easily.

The increased muscle mass and his mentality went hand in hand with steroids, and she didn't doubt that he might be taking something else on the side. Whoever he got his steroids off would no doubt be able to obtain plenty of other dodgy items.

So she was going round to a drug fuelled, steroid pumping maniac's house to tell him that the wedding is off. A wedding she knew nothing of, of course. Now she felt like calling some back-up. But no, this was her problem, and she would deal with it.

Stopping in front of the well kept house, much like every other one in this small town, she turned and paced up the driveway. The door opened as she approached, and revealed Matthew, who looked a little worse for wear. He looked as though he had been waiting behind that door for two days without sleep, food or even water.

"Are you all right?" She asked, not yet inside the house.

"Yeah I'm fine." He replied. His voice never wavered, and a kind smile was on his face. She was apprehensive about this, but she felt she owed it to him to at least come inside the house.

As she did so, he slammed the door hard behind her and she turned to see his kind face replaced with one of pure fury and insanity. "I spoke to Bella a few days ago." He seethed. "And she told me some _very_ interesting information."

"And what was that?" She asked, trying to mask her shaky voice. He locked the door behind him, sliding the bolt across with a fatal efficiency.

"She told me that Gohan that _freak_." He hissed. "Has been knocking someone off."

"Oh yeah?" He bore down on her, his size immediately becoming most alarming to the petite woman. She would really have no chance if this came to violence. She backed up in the direction of the back door. Glancing to her left she spied the living room, and the smashed remnants of a telephone strewn across the floor. That idea was right out of the window then. Bella may have just signed the poor girl's death warrant, and maybe her own while she was at it. Bella had been keen on Matthew for years, and this made perfect sense.

Obviously Bella had hoped this would break the two up, and she would swoop in. If Videl got out of this alive, she would have to warn her of the danger he posed. After beating the crap out of her of course.

"She said that it was my very own girlfriend. What a laugh that was!" He shouted. "_My_ girl and that loser. But then it all became clear. That conversation you two had the other day was part of it."

"Matthew, please-"

"Quiet! I don't know exactly how this all fits in, because my brain is absolutely mashed just at the minute." He placed both hands on the side of his skull and dragged them through his hair and down the side of his face quickly, while blinking repeatedly and shaking his head violently. She shuddered at the action, his crazed state was sending her into a panic. She tried to keep calm and reminded herself that she was a Satan.

She had to get out of this. She span and rushed for the back door, hurtling herself through the kitchen. Her head was jerked violently back however when Matthew took a powerful hold on her long hair. Maybe Gohan had been right about it, she shouldn't swish it about so much. Yes, after this, she would get it cut. If she had any left that is, he had just pulled a huge clump from her scalp.

She fell to her knees and felt herself facing him. He stood tall, letting the thick strands of hair fall slowly like black feathers to the tiled floor. She stood shakily and just saw his fist come crashing down. She tried to block it with her own hand, but it was like putting a piece of paper in front of him. Her hand was deflected away and the clenched fist crashed onto her cheek sending her sprawling to the ground.

She attempted to recall her distant training, but found that her mind was not allowing it. Her shock was clouding her thinking, and only the most basic of survival instincts had kicked in, the one to run and hide. Fighting him head on was not yet an option.

Her hand tenderly caressed the area of skin that he had come into contact with, wincing at the pain of the bruising and feeling the sticky moisture of blood below her fingers. She turned her gaze to him. He was once again stood towering over her, daring her to try to get up again. She moved so that she was sat in front of him and her knees were raised into the air, her feet flat on the floor.

With her right leg, she lashed straight out, coming into contact with his shin with a powerful blow. He cried out in pain and fell to the floor as she took her opportunity to stand. In an instant she was up and moving towards the door, but before she could even move an inch further, a large hand closed itself around her ankle and yanked backwards. She fell again and saw his grimacing face behind her.

She had been sure that he was down with the pain, at least for a few seconds, enough time for her to escape. Obviously the drugs that he had consumed were masking any pain that he felt. He was like the frickin' terminator, nothing that she could possibly do would stop him. A horrible reality hit her, one that told her she was certain to die in this god forsaken place.

She screamed. How the hell was she going to get out?!


	13. Red Is Something Else

With the grim reality that she would die if she didn't do something really soon, the young woman searched her possibilities. Which were few. At the moment, all she could think of was finding a weapon to use against him.

She had noticed during her last tumble that the latch on the back door was closed, meaning that it was locked. But that was a simple thing to open as long as the deadlocks weren't locked with it. If they were she would have to root around for keys which she assumed would most definitely not be easy to procure. And waiting around for this lunatics parents was not an option.

Plus, no one was coming for her. She hadn't told a soul where she was going. She should have spoken to Gohan, if he knew where she was, he would save her. She smiled for a brief moment, even in the heat of the situation. He was her protector, he had already saved her life once before and he would probably be able to do it again. And she had never told him that she loved him.

Feeling the grip on her ankle only tighten, she lashed out with her other foot, colliding forcefully with his forehead. With a grunt, he let go. She stood up, panting heavily. Opening the first drawer she found, she picked out the first thing that she saw that could be of any use.

A rolling pin, the perfect weapon. Hopefully with this, she might be able to give him a big enough clout to knock him down or even out for a few seconds. He stood up with her, already recovered from her last attack. She raised the lump of wood he smirked devilishly. "You wouldn't."

"Wouldn't I?"

He laughed and lunged forward. Using every last scrap of energy left in her body she darted to the side and his momentum carried him forward, passing her. She used her remaining strength to swing the pin down on his skull, wincing at the sound of the blow and the horrified look etched on his face.

He slumped heavily to the floor, colliding with a few more objects on the way down. She stood motionless for a few moments, before a groan emanated from his throat signalling that he still had plenty of fight left in him.

With a scream of pure terror, she darted to the door and almost ripped the latch off the door as she clicked it open. A cry of joy then followed as it swung open, the other locks having not been activated.

She didn't look back as she ran home as quickly as her slender legs could carry her. Her home came into view and she saw that both her own driveway and Gohan's were empty. Her father was at work, and she had overheard Gohan and his family in the morning talking of a trip to West City for a few days.

The two of them still weren't really speaking, but she had avoided him since she was forgiven, trying to summon up the courage to tell him how she felt. Her front door was fast approaching and she breathed a sigh of relief. She was almost to safety.

She almost had a heart attack however when she registered what she had just heard behind her. "Videl!" A deep, powerful voice boomed behind her. She put on a burst of pace and uttered a silent scream.

Somehow however, he had caught up to her. How could this be? When she had left he couldn't even open his eyes, and now he had caught her. She crushed her eyes shut to force the sweat that was stinging her eyeballs out.

A hand wrapped itself around her arm and she was spun around. She prepared a fist hastily and kept her eyes shut as she swung out with it. She made contact and she felt that his head had snapped back sharply from her attack. His grip didn't loosen even a notch however and she was forced to open her eyes to see her attacker.

Instead of a head of sandy blonde hair about six feet in the air, she was met with one of raven black tresses about three inches higher. "Gohan?" She croaked. She couldn't be sure if this was real or if her brain was putting him in place of Matthew in her panic.

"Of course." He looked down at her damaged face, the bruise beneath her eye, the blood trickling down her cheek and at the rolling pin in her hand with a spot of blood colouring it three quarters of the way down. "What did he do to you?"

The question seemed to stir something inside of her, and she broke down in tears, sobbing into his chest. He placed his arms around her back, holding her close as they stood in the middle of the street, stock still apart from the occasional shudder from her tears. Her dainty fingers clawed themselves into the fabric of his shirt on his chest, as they had done that time he had pulled her from the road. His hands slowly traced up and down her back, coming to rest at the base of her neck, fingers lightly brushing the dark hair that sprouted there.

They stood like that for what seemed an eternity as she slowly recovered from her ordeal. Slowly he led her by the hand back to his home and sat her down at the dining table while he rooted through cupboards for medical equipment.

"You went to West City today though?" She said, asking it as more of a question than anything else.

"Ermm..." He _was_ in West City, but he could hardly tell her that he flew a thousand miles to get back when he sensed the fluctuations in her ki, leaving his mother and Goten at Capsule Corporation with the Briefs. "I decided to stay behind, I had some stuff to do."

"Oh..." She wasn't in the mood to pick holes in his answer.

"Will you tell me what happened?" He asked as he returned with what he needed. As he began cleaning up the wound, she told him the story, or at least everything that she could recall.

He was incensed at what he had done, but what he had suspected for a long time was true. That boy was mentally unbalanced, and something had to be done. "I need to go to Matthew's house. Right now. I'll take that rolling pin too, I think it would be best that I returned it. I want you to go home, lock all of the doors and windows and wait for your father."

"What are you going to do?"

"I need to get round there and make sure he doesn't harm himself or any others. He's mentally unstable and I don't want to think just what he might be capable of." He stood up, intent on going at that very minute. Videl stood quickly and grasped his hand in her own.

"Don't go Gohan, he might kill you! Get the police to go." He smiled, her worry was unfounded. No matter how many drugs he had taken, he still wouldn't be able to lay a finger on Gohan.

"I'll be fine, just worry about yourself. Go home, _right now_." He ordered. She relinquished her grip on his hand and walked to the door, Gohan trailing her. He walked her around to her own front door and waited until she was safely inside before he took off, the rolling pin in his hand, ready to return the evidence to the scene of the crime.


	14. Red Is The Worst Of Us

Gohan landed softly at the back door of the house that was his target. Crashing and banging could be heard from the direction of the kitchen. Obviously he was still here. Gohan pushed the door open slowly and peeked through the gap. Matthew was moving around the kitchen in a crazed state, swinging what looked like a bat around his head.

Cupboard doors had been ripped off, crockery smashed and the refrigerator over-turned, its contents lost in a sea of mashed up food on the floor. Gohan mourned its loss silently. It looked like there was some good stuff down there.

Back to the business at hand, he pushed the door all of the way open and caught the bat mid-swing as he dropped the kitchen implement onto the messy floor. Its holder twisted as his path was halted and he turned his head to see the one he hated most. The one that he wanted kill above all others.

Gohan could see the blood matted into his blond hair and the crazed look in his eyes. With a twist of his wrist, he wrestled the bat from the other male, flinging it absently into a corner. He was charged at, and Gohan effortlessly placed his hands on Matthew's wrists, locking him in place. He kicked out, but Gohan blocked him with his right foot.

He gripped tighter, the pain forcing the other to his knees. Before he even knew what was happening, a blow to the side of his head had knocked the blond out. Gohan searched around. Neither his eyes or nose could detect any of Videl's blood, but he located all of her lost hair and picked it up. With a tiny blast in his hand he disintegrated it into almost nothingness. He picked up the wooden instrument that she had knocked him down with and wiped both handle's with it. It was best that no one ever knew that she had been here this day, just in case. Her other finger prints were easily explicable, this was her boyfriend's home, they were bound to be present.

They might not even do a crime scene investigation anyway, it wasn't like anyone had died. He sat down on the man's back and pulled his phone from his pocket, ready to ring the police.

After the promised ten minutes had elapsed, Gohan was forced to wait another thirty. As they bustled through the front door, he shouted to them. "In here." They followed his voice into the kitchen to see a tall, dark haired male sat on the back of an unconscious blond who was nestled between the crap on the floor.

"What the hell...?" One of them mumbled.

"I slept with his girlfriend." Gohan said while shrugging his shoulders, in a manner that suggested those five words conveyed everything that had happened here.

* * *

Gohan returned very late that night to his frantic mother, who had returned home along with her youngest son at the news her son had been arrested. But according to Gohan, they had just been following 'procedures'. Gohan wasn't actually in trouble, or so he told her. She wasn't sure what to believe, Gohan hardly ever told her anything any more. Bulma had come back with them too, to offer some moral support for the family. And of course any financial support if they really needed any for legal costs.

The police car dropped him just outside his house and she had come running right out to greet him. He welcomed her embrace, as it had not been an easy few hours for the half saiyan. Interrogated for hours, thrown in a cell, beating the crap out of the other criminals who thought that he might have been an easy target. All in all, one of the worst days of his life.

He couldn't believe his treatment, he had told Videl's story as his own, or at least the basics of it, having to exchange a few 'facts' here and there. But apparently he should have tried to calm his opponent down instead of beating the hell out of his skull with a lump of wood. He couldn't bear to think what might of become of Videl if she had attempted to reason with that lunatic.

Basically, he had got off without any charges brought against him, but the whole ordeal had caused him to lose faith in both the police force and the judicial system. Right now he just wanted to get out of this town, it had been nothing but trouble. Expelled from school, taking the fall for Videl, pretty much being told to get out of town as soon as possible, the list went on.

He was sat at the bus station, thinking about what he was doing. Leaving for West City, about two months early, and staying with Bulma until he began university over there. He would have to leave Videl behind, Matthew was locked up in a psychiatric ward, unable to bring harm to anyone. Her feelings were perfectly clear to the demi saiyan. As sorry as she was for everything, it wasn't as though she was in love with him. In truth, he had lost faith in the whole idea of love a very long time ago.

The sleek grey coach pulled up slowly before him, and he looked up at the destination on the front. In truth, he could have just flown, or taken the car back with Bulma, but he wanted a few more days here and he had always enjoyed long journeys such as this. He looked around at the other people that would be joining him on this one way trip to West City. They were indeed a bunch of misfits, all of them with their own reasons for leaving this damned place.

There were a few elderly fellows and a few old women too, a couple of those in middle age, two very butch looking thirty something women, whom he could only assume were lesbians from their more than graphic body language. And then there was that sixteen or seventeen year old blonde who kept giving him the eyes as they had waited. He supposed that she would be paying him a visit once they were safely on the coach. She wasn't half bad, most people would welcome her attention, but Gohan wasn't interested. He would chat away with her but then let her down gently at the end. Maybe they could be friends?

He stood and waited in line for the bus, as the driver placed their bags in the belly of the beast, allowing all of the others on before him, he was the perfect gentleman of course, after years of training by his mother. The blonde managed to get on penultimately, just before him and made a grand show of swinging her hips as she climbed the steps, the majority of her long legs revealed to him due to her not so modest skirt. He bit his lower lip. She wasn't half bad at all.


	15. Nonsense

Gohan found a seat right at the back and placed his newspaper on the faux wooden table before him, spreading out the entire thing. "Can I sit here?" A cool, feminine voice sounded out loud. He looked up to see Blondie stood in front of him, her ample chest level with his eye line. He looked around. There weren't even a dozen people on, and this was a forty seater.

Well, he could do with a little conversation for the long journey, the paper would hardly last him twelve hours. "Sure, be my guest." She placed her bag on the aisle seat and slid into the window one, facing Gohan. She crossed her legs underneath the table, 'accidentally' rubbing her foot along Gohan's leg.

"I'm Amy." She said, reaching her hand across for him to shake.

"Gohan." He said, clasping her smaller hand in his own. She smiled sweetly at him. "So, what are you escaping from?" He questioned.

She peered out of the window and sighed. "I'm going to my mother in West City. My parents are divorced, but I was put with my father. He's a bit of an ass, so I felt like a change. I haven't even seen my mother in two years." She turned back to him, the carefree look back on her face. Now he recognised her, she went to his high school, she was two years below him. Hmm, she didn't look like this in school, and she certainly didn't look sixteen. "So, what about you? What are you escaping from?"

The vehicle jolted a little as the bus started up, engines revving. It was finally goodbye from Gohan to this town. "Nothing really."

"You can't kid a kidder. Everyone who takes cross country coaches like these is running away from something."

"You are a very perceptive girl." He wondered if he should say anything at all to this girl, but saw absolutely no harm to it. "I'm running away from everything to be honest."

"Oh yeah?" She prompted him.

"Family, school, people."

"And...?"

"And what?" He asked, confused.

"There is always one more problem that men have in their lives, the most important one."

"Women..." He whispered.

"That's right. So who is it?" She leaned over placing her elbows onto the table top, her chin cupped in her hands. He stared out of the window and noticed for the first time the pouring rain outside and the darkening skies overhead.

"This girl-" He was stopped abruptly by a loud knocking on the door to the coach. He turned his head sharply to the direction that it came from and felt the bus coming to a sharp standstill. Looking around he noticed that they were only feet from the exit of the bus station. He sighed, he was so close to escape.

The driver had now opened the doors and he was talking with someone at the foot of the stairs. That person then stepped up a few steps and he could see the top of their head. His stomach tightened into a knot as he saw the dark head of hair that emerged.

Without even thinking about it, his body moved on its own, rising from his seat. He stalked his way to the front of the bus and her face came into full view.

"Why did you come here Videl?" He questioned in a harsh, monotone voice.

She turned to him quickly and a look of happiness mixed with sorrow took its place on her features. "Gohan..." She breathed.

He strode forward and took hold of her upper arm, and led her off the bus. "Could you give me just a minute?" He asked the driver, who simply shrugged his shoulders in reply.

"What do you want Videl?" He said as he walked towards her car, still holding her arm tightly.

"Let go of me!" She cried as she shrugged his hand off herself. She then turned so that she was stood in front of him, facing his body. "Don't go." She pleaded.

"Don't start with this Videl, I don't have time."

"Why are you leaving? Why are you running away?"

"Because I can't stand to be in this place."

"Are you going because of me?"

"Yes." He gave it to her straight. The rain was soaking him now, but his jacket was keeping him warm. He looked down at her as she shivered. She had come out with nothing but a t-shirt on.

"Your mother told me this morning that you were leaving. She said that I was the only one that could stop you."

"So you came here in a rush, huh?"

"Doesn't that tell you anything? I want you to stay so much. What kind of reason do you need? What if I was pregnant?"

He chuckled at her attempts. "You aren't pregnant Videl."

Tears were streaming down her face, but his heart was iron clad. "I could be." She murmured.

"But you're not."

The girl then placed her palms upon his chest and peered down at them. More tears poured from her eyes as she thought of what could possibly convince him to stay. "Why are you being so mean to me?" She sobbed. "Do you hate me that much?"

He sighed out loud. He didn't hate her at all. He placed a hand to her soaked cheek and moved it up so that his fingers tangled into her hair. "You cut your hair." He stated.

She laughed and reached her own hand up to his own. I was sick of swishing it about. That is what you said to me, right? That I go around swishing this hair of mine about."

"It suits you." Her small body was now shivering uncontrollably and he did the only thing that he could think of in the situation. Pulling his hand back, he took his jacket off and placed it around her fragile shoulders. "I'm nothing like the guy in your fairytale ending Videl."

"But you are the guy!" She screamed at him. He tried backing away but she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. "Videl, let go."

"If you won't stay, then take me with you. Just don't leave me alone. It's true that I have my friends and family, but if I was to be without you, then I would be truly alone in the world. I love you with all of my heart."

He looked down into her eyes as she looked up at him. "You silly girl. Love doesn't exist. It's just a hopeless prayer, a pretence for life."

"Do you honestly believe that? Are you saying that you don't love your mother, or even your little brother. I thought that what we shared was special, but you are saying that it means nothing, that you don't even love me at all."

He gazed hopelessly down into her blue eyes. What could he possibly do in this situation? He bent his head slightly and placed his lips to her forehead gently, then pulled back. He sighed and reached around to unclasp her hands from behind his back.

He gave her one last look before turning back towards the coach that would lead him to the rest of his life.


	16. Mashed Kippers And Iced Cream

Gohan turned to see the entire number of passengers present on the bus, including the driver, all pressing their noses up against the windows on the side that he was on. He smirked as their smiles, most likely resulting from the kiss that he had given to her on her forehead turn to frowns as the grim reality that he could very well be leaving this tearful, hopelessly lost girl on her own.

A chorus of boos rang out from the interior, resonating out of the open vent at the top of the vehicle, winging their way into his ears. To be honest, he couldn't care less what they thought. Either way, this would be a story that they would be able to tell their grandkids. Be it a classic love story or one of a cruel and callous man abandoning a woman to a life alone, in Gohan's mind it didn't matter. They would still talk, and he didn't know any of these people anyway.

* * *

Four years later.

Videl opened her eyes slowly as the sounds of the clock radio blasted out as her wake up call, as always. She recognised the introduction to the song instantly, a song that might so perfectly fit to her life. The disc jockey announced over the first bars as the name that she expected came up.

_Every time I think of you  
I always catch my breath  
And I'm still standing here  
And you're miles away  
And I'm wondering why you left  
And there's a storm that's raging  
Through my frozen heart tonight_

Things might have gone so differently, if only perhaps she had made a different decision, an alternate path.

_I hear your name in certain circles  
And it always makes me smile  
I spend my time  
Thinking about you  
And it's almost driving me wild  
And there's a heart that's breaking  
Down this long distance line tonight  
I ain't missing you at all_

Would she be able to say that? Could she honestly admit to herself that she wasn't missing him if she didn't have what she had now._  
_

_In your world  
I have no meaning  
Though I'm trying hard  
To understand  
And it's my heart that's breaking  
Down this long distance line tonight  
I ain't missing you at all_

But now of course, she had a loving husband, and even a child on the way. She was still young, only twenty two, but they had agreed that a good time to raise a family would be after he had finished his more than ample education, and before their careers took over their lives. But he promised that that would never happen. She smiled to herself. Of course she believed him, he would never lie to her, never break a promise. When it came to family, he was always there, especially for her.

She rolled onto her back as she heard the door creak to her bedroom creak as it always did, and her husband entered. She sat up as she spotted the tray in his arms, and the answer to where he had been was answered. The smell that was wafting from the kitchen was not her imagination after all, and he had in fact been downstairs cooking up that horrific concoction that she craved so much. No one else could even stand the smell of those two things mixed together, nor could they stomach the horrendous sight of the thing as it swilled about in whatever container she, or indeed her husband had decided to put it in.

She readied herself in position to receive her meal, and took it from his hands, settling it on her lap. He climbed gently back into bed, not wanting to spill any onto the covers. It took weeks to get the smell out after all.

He waited patiently with the newspaper as she finished up her breakfast. Cooking it was one thing, but getting near to her while she was eating it was another. As she placed the crockery on the floor, he tossed the daily aside and scooted close to her, his arms placed around her slender shoulders, and she leant back into his broad chest.

"I can't wait until the kid drops and you stop eating that crap." He said.

She playfully scolded him for his language. "Don't talk like that in front of your little girl. She's bound to be a genius just like her father. I'm sure that she can already hear you and she's already learning words."

"Don't talk such nonsense!" He sighed out loud as he ran a hand over her belly as he pulled her t-shirt up, revealing the large bump, allowing his hand to eventually come to rest on it. "You're so _fat_ Videl!" He joked. She reached around and smacked him on the side of the head.

"Don't talk such nonsense!" She replied, using his own words against him.

He took on a more serious tone with his next point. "Things are going to change around here when she arrives."

"I know. I can't wait." She placed a hand over his, intertwining fingers. She thought of what the future might hold, and all of the worries that came with it, but all she felt was the overwhelming happiness that having a daughter with the man that she loved would bring. That feeling compared to the ones when she was proposed to, or maybe when she discovered that she was having a baby.

Or maybe it compared with the one that she felt when his arms had closed around her shoulders as she stumbled away from an almost empty coach, thinking that all was lost.

* * *

Four years earlier

Videl staggered back towards the small car that her father had eventually bought for her, in a complete daze, unsure of what to do. She wondered if her life was still even worth living.

As she did so, everything was blocked out from her mind. So she didn't hear the short conversation that Gohan had with the driver, nor the ecstatic cheerers of the crowd on the bus when he walked back to her. Her body however, did feel the powerful arm come to rest on her shoulders, pulling her close to a warm body. The coat of Gohan's kept her dry, but she was still cold. That body warmed her to no end though.

She cocked her up and to the right to see a smiling face and a pair of warm, dark eyes beaming down at her.

Gohan stared at her and couldn't help but believe that he had made the right decision. All of the wrong turns that he had made now flooded his mind, and silently he wondered if she still might want him or love him after everything that he had put her through. She peered up at him with soft, tearful cerulean orbs, and he held her tighter and closer.

"I love you." He whispered, for only her ears to hear.

"What?!"

"I've been such a fool. I want to be with you. If you'll still have me of course."

He almost groaned as the tears began to fall once again and she twisted around to move further into his embrace. "Of course."

"I'm sorry I made you think that I was still leaving. But I couldn't leave without my bag, it has everything in it. My mother would kill me!"

* * *

**The song is Missing You, by Johan Waite. Looking back on this (it's not 2008), I wish I hadn't done a songfic thing, but at least Videl is actually listening to it, it isn't just some words randomly there to bulk up the word count. Forgive me?**

**The End. With no question marks. That is it for this fic, I think that the edits, although barely noticeable, make the story better, and fit the characters better. **

**Please tell me what you thought of it, and hopefully it isn't too confusing. That guy is obviously Gohan all the way through. If you have any questions, leave them in a review and I will email back, or message me through my profile.**


End file.
